The saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica, ) or saiga is a species of antelope which during antiquity inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe, spanning the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the northwest and Caucasus in the southwest into Mongolia in the northeast and Dzungaria in the southeast. During the Pleistocene, it ranged across the mammoth steppe from the British Isles to Beringia. Today, the dominant subspecies (S. t. tatarica) only occurs in Kalmykia and Astrakhan Oblast of Russia and in the Ural Mountains, Ustyurt Plateau and Betpak-Dala regions of Kazakhstan. A portion of the Ustyurt population migrates south to Uzbekistan and occasionally to Turkmenistan in winter. It is regionally extinct in Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, China and southwestern Mongolia. The Mongolian subspecies (S. t. mongolica) occurs only in western Mongolia.
Taxonomy and phylogeny The scientific name Capra tatarica was coined by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the 12th edition of Systema Naturae. It was reclassified as Saiga tatarica and is the sole living member of the genus Saiga. Two subspecies are recognised:
S. t. tatarica (Linnaeus, 1766): also known as the Russian saiga, it is only to be found today in central Asia. S. t. mongolica Bannikov, 1946: also known as the Mongolian saiga, it is sometimes treated as an independent species, or as subspecies of the Pleistocene Saiga borealis; it is confined to Mongolia. In 1945, American paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson classified both in the tribe Saigini under the same subfamily, Caprinae. Subsequent authors were not certain about the relationship between the two, until phylogenetic studies in the 1990s revealed that though morphologically similar, the Tibetan antelope is closer to the Caprinae while the saiga is closer to the Antilopinae. In a revision of the phylogeny of the tribe Antilopini on the basis of nuclear and mitochondrial data in 2013, Eva Verena Bärmann (of the University of Cambridge) and colleagues showed that the saiga is sister to the clade formed by the springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) and the gerenuk (Litocranius walleri). The study noted that the saiga and the springbok could be considerably different from the rest of the antilopines; a 2007 phylogenetic study suggested that the two form a clade sister to the gerenuk. The cladogram below is based on the 2013 study.
Evolution
Fossils of saiga, concentrated mainly in central and northern Eurasia, date to as early as the late Pleistocene (nearly 0.1 Mya). Several species of extinct Saiga from the Pleistocene of Eurasia and Alaska have been named, including S. borealis, S. prisca, S. binagadensis and S. ricei, although more recent studies suggest that these prehistoric representatives were merely geographical variants of the extant species that was formerly much more widespread. Fossils excavated from the Buran Kaya III site (Crimea) date back to the transition from Pleistocene to Holocene. The morphology of saiga does not seem to have changed significantly since prehistoric times. Before the Holocene, the saiga ranged across the mammoth steppe from as far west as modern-day England and France to as far east as northern Siberia, Alaska, and probably Canada. The antelope gradually entered the Urals, though it did not colonise southern Europe. A 2010 study revealed that a steep decline has occurred in the genetic variability of the saiga since the late Pleistocene-Holocene, probably due to a population bottleneck.
Characteristics
A prominent feature of the saiga is the pair of closely spaced, bloated nostrils directed downward. Other facial features include the proboscis, dark markings on the cheeks and the 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) long ears. Its head-and-body length is typically between 100 and 140 cm (39 and 55 in) with a 6–12 cm (2.4–4.7 in) short tail, and it stands 61–81 cm (24–32 in) at the shoulder. It weighs 26–69 kg (57–152 lb). The coat shows seasonal changes. In summer, the coat appears yellow to red, fading toward the flanks. The Mongolian saiga can develop a sandy colour. The coat develops a pale, grayish-brown colour in winter, with a hint of brown on the belly and the neck. The ventral parts are generally white. The hair is 18–30 mm (0.71–1.18 in) long in summer and can grow up to 40–70 mm (1.6–2.8 in) in winter. This forms a 12 to 15 cm (4.7 to 5.9 in) long mane on the neck. Two distinct moults occur, one in spring from April to May and another in autumn from late September or early October to late November or early December. Only males have horns, which are thick and slightly translucent, wax-coloured and show 12 to 20 pronounced rings. With a base diameter of 25–33 mm (0.98–1.30 in), the horns of the Russian saiga measure 28–38 cm (11–15 in) in length; the horns of the Mongolian saiga reach a maximum length of 22 cm (8.7 in).
Ecology and behaviour Saigas form very large herds that graze in semideserts, steppes, grasslands, and possibly open woodlands, eating several species of plants, including some that are poisonous to other animals. They can cover long distances and swim across rivers, but they avoid steep or rugged areas. The mating season starts in November, when stags fight for the acceptance of females. The winner leads a herd of five to ten, occasionally up to 50 females. In springtime, mothers come together en masse to give birth.
Saigas, like the Mongolian gazelles, are known for their extensive migrations across the steppes that allow them to escape natural calamities. Saigas are highly vulnerable to wolves. Juveniles are targeted by foxes, steppe eagles, golden eagles and ravens.
Distribution and habitat
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